SHAWNEE, Okla. – SWOSU Volleyball earned a sweep in its opening-round match against ECU, dominating the first two sets and closing out the match with a 4-0 solo run.
SWOSU advances to tomorrow's semifinal and will face the winner of Harding vs. Henderson State at 2 p.m. inside FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
The Dawgs came out blazing with an 8-0 burst to start the morning, forcing ECU to burn an early timeout and showing no signs of sluggishness despite the 10 a.m. first serve. SWOSU rolled to a 25-10 win in the opener, a 15-point margin that not only stood as the largest of the match but also marked the biggest set win by any team in the GAC Championships since the spring 2021 season.
Paris Patterson led the first-set attack with five kills on .455 hitting, while Jada Permenter reached double-digit digs in a single frame, recording 10. SWOSU hit .345 as a team and limited ECU to -.027 with seven kills against eight errors.
The Bulldogs kept rolling in the second set, building an 8-3 advantage and never letting the Tigers fully regain their footing. ECU tightened it to 10-7, but a 6-2 SWOSU run put the set out of reach as the Dawgs secured a 25-12 win. It marked the first time since 2018 that a team won the opening two sets of a GAC Tournament match by at least 10 points each.
SWOSU hit .424 in the frame with 16 kills and only two errors. ECU countered with eight kills and seven errors.
The third set brought ECU's strongest push of the match. The Tigers jumped ahead 3–0 and battled the Dawgs tightly throughout, eventually taking a 16-15 lead that prompted SWOSU's first timeout of the day. After the Dawgs briefly reclaimed the lead, ECU again surged in front 20-19, forcing another SWOSU timeout. The Tigers held on late at 23-21 before Hailey Smith took over, delivering four straight kills to steal the set and complete the sweep.
Smith anchored the attack with a career-high 18 kills on .469 hitting while adding five blocks. She has now hit above .444 in three straight matches. Patterson and Sydnee Winfrey added eight kills apiece, with Winfrey contributing three blocks. Permenter patrolled the back row with 30 digs, her highest career total in a three-set match. Mackenzie Sims handed out 36 assists and added 11 digs, marking her sixth straight double-double.
SWOSU finished the match hitting .315 with 44 kills and just 10 errors while holding ECU to .089. The Dawgs posted 22 more digs than the Tigers and out-blocked them 7–2.
